Swipe Right, Stand Left: Dating & The Politics of Desire
A Workshop on Love Beyond Borders
Hosted by Body-Philosopher Vishnu Vardhani Rajan
Chapter 1 – Diaspora
Wed 10.12.25
18-21:00
@ Kiss my ARS galleria, Intiankatu 28
Chapter 2 – Disabilities, Chronic Illness, and the Ableist dating
Date to be determined
What happens when the algorithm meets the border regime? When desire is shaped by who the state says belongs?
This workshop creates space to explore the intimate politics of dating across difference in contemporary Finland—where immigration reshapes demographics, dating apps engineer our choices, and love becomes entangled with residency permits, racial capitalism, and nationalist anxieties.
Drawing from xenofeminist theory and family abolition discourse, we’ll examine how dating becomes a site where larger systems operate at the most intimate level: Who do we swipe right on, and why? Whose accent is “charming” vs. “problematic”? When does care across difference become genuine connection vs. savior fantasy?
We’ll explore:
The technocratic landscape of online dating and algorithmic sorting of desire
Immigration law in the bedroom: residency, family reunification, and relationship timelines
Dating across war, trauma, and displacement—holding asymmetry without collapsing into rescue narratives
Racialized desire in “progressive” Finland: fetishization, stereotypes, and Nordic exceptionalism
Language, power, and vulnerability in cross-cultural intimacy
Chosen family beyond the couple: refusing the nuclear family as the only model of care
Building care networks that don’t rely on romantic partnership for legitimacy or survival
This workshop is for: Anyone navigating complex identities in dating—immigrants, refugees, people of color, white Finns dating across difference, mixed families, queer folks, those with war backgrounds, and anyone questioning how power shapes who we love.
We’ll use: Small group discussions, storytelling circles, anonymous reflection prompts, and collaborative sense-making. All languages welcome. No one is required to share—your presence is enough.
Together we ask: What would it mean to swipe right on justice? To stand left while dating right? To refuse the systems that police our desire while building the intimacy we actually need?
Registration:
The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required. Please register through this form:
https://forms.gle/tcky7ronap3XP4Nb7
https://www.vishnuvardhani.com
https://www.kissmyars.wordpress.com
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